One year after the first strike hit the $200 billion fast-food industry, Nashville workers walked off their jobs on Dec. 5, joining a national strike wave against companies like McDonald’s.

SEIU Local 205 members stood in solidarity with over 120 striking workers and community supporters in front of the West End McDonald’s near Centennial Park. Workers went on strike in more than 100 additional cities, as the fight for $15/hour and the right to form a union without retaliation continues to grow.

Fast food is a $200 billion a year industry, yet many service workers across the country earn minimum wage or just above it and are forced to rely on public assistance programs to provide for their families and get healthcare for their children. Low-wage jobs have accounted for the bulk of new jobs added in the recovery, and retail and fast food are among the fastest-growing sectors, slowing the recovery and hurting our local economy.

70% of fast-food workers are in their 20’s or older and more than one-quarter of fast-food workers are raising at least one child. More than half of fast-food workers who work more than 40 hours per week earn so little that they are forced to rely on public assistance programs, costing taxpayers $7 billion per year.